Lawyer Well-being

• Publication year: 2022
• Pages: 39
• Citation: Vol. 35 No. 6 Pg. 39

Lawyer Well-BeingNo. Vol. 35 No. 6 Pg. 39Utah Bar JournalDecember, 2022

November, 2022

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: What it is, What it isn’t, and What You Can Do About It

by Martha Knudson

Lawyers are high achievers. We have advanced degrees and plenty of accolades and accomplishments to our names. If anyone should feel competent and successful, we should. But a lot of us harbor a secret fear that despite all these objective markers of success we’re not nearly as capable as others think we are. I’m in this camp. Sure, I graduated magna cum laude from law school, made partner at my law firm, was a successful general counsel of a top ten national real estate management firm, and worked on the teaching team of an Ivy League graduate program. But despite all this, there are still days when I feel I’ve fooled everyone, and it’s only a matter of time before I’m found out as a fraud.

Am I a fraud? Of course not. Like a lot of people, my thoughts about my abilities just get skewed sometimes. Having this happen may sound silly, but having an intrusive amount of these types of fears are no joke. Left unchecked, they can snowball and have a serious impact on one’s career and peace of mind. What I’m talking is the Imposter Syndrome, a psychological phenomenon where people experience a mixture of self-doubt and anxiety that prevents them from recognizing their own skill and success despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. See J. Hibbard, The Imposter Cure: How to Stop Feeling Like a Fraud and Escape the Mind-Trap of Imposter Syndrome 30 (2019).

Signs that you too might experience this phenomenon include sometimes believing you’ve fooled others into thinking you’re more capable than you are, crediting your successes to luck, charm, networking, being in the right place at the right time, or even others’ misjudgment. Other signs include discounting your legitimate contributions to team achievements, putting yourself down when someone recognizes your skill, and negatively comparing yourself to others rather than taking pride in your efforts. See id. At 6–10, 31–32.

If this sounds like you, the good news is that you are far from alone. About 70% of both women and men are estimated to experience this phenomena in their lifetimes. Jaruwan Sakulku & James Alexander, The Imposter Syndrome, 6:1 International Journal of Behavioral Science 73 (2011). Feelings of imposter-itis are actually a very common experience for high achievers like lawyers who work in pressure cooker, competitive cultures where standards are high and performance is constantly scrutinized. Hibbard, at 30, 34–36. The curious thing is that those of us who experience this aren’t imposters at all. We sometimes just think we are.

To be clear, feeling unsure doesn’t make you an imposter. We all wonder how we measure up sometimes, especially in competitive environments like the legal industry. Wondering this or feeling insecure about our abilities, interactions, or performance from time to...